Has Russia got a new Stalin?

...Russians who choose to cast their ballots will be participating in an election that is not really an election, in order to choose a president who, most likely, will not really be a president. Add to this the fact that Vladimir Putin is also only sort-of stepping down - he will instead return as prime minister - and you have a classic example of what the Kremlin once called "managed democracy"...

Just to be on the safe side, the Kremlin has also banned any of Putin's serious critics from standing. Three unelectable misfits have been allowed to mount token challenges.

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[A: 'yes' - but with a difference: Russia is now getting rich off its oil and gas sales because we refuse to compete with our own reserves. When Russia completes its gas pipelines to Europe, it will virtually enslave it - exactly why Reagan worked so hard to prevent it. Flashback: 2/11/2008:

Russia threatens gas cutoff
Russia's state-controlled gas supplier Gazprom on Monday gave neighbouring Ukraine a reprieve of a few hours in a debt dispute, but still said it would stop sending gas to the country of 47 million people if an agreement isn't reached. The conflict is being watched nervously in European Union countries that get Russian gas through pipelines crossing Ukraine, fearing a repeat of the supply disruptions that hit during January 2006 when Russia halted gas to Ukraine for several days amid a fierce argument over price hikes.

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